John Anderson, a software and hardware engineer with 20+ years of experience, leads the technology team at Smart Design, specializing in edge computing, AI, and smart sensors. His work has earned recognition at CES, SXSW, and the Webbys. He has collaborated with top brands like Google, Samsung, and PayPal, combining cutting-edge tech with user-focused design. A technologist-in-residence at NYU Stern, John is also a frequent speaker at global events like Adobe’s 99u and the Fast Company Innovation Festival. Passionate about accessibility, he designs impactful, socially driven products.

​Over the past 20 years, screen technologies have shifted from creative branding to user-focused designs, paving the way for back-end innovation at the intersection of AI, IoT, and contextual data. In this talk, John will draw on his experiences like creating the Gatorade Sweat Patch, and explore how physical and digital design converge in today’s AI-driven world, emphasizing how unique data fuels our design-thinking and prototyping process.